Monte Rawlins, born Dean Calvin Spencer (February 21, 1907 – July 13, 1988), also called Monte "Alamo" Rawlins, was a short-lived western film star of the late 1930s, often dubbed The Masked Phantom due to his better known role. The B-rated "Masked Phantom" role was his only starring role. In the late 1930s, Columbia Pictures had been searching for a new face to be a new cowboy western star. They were having success with several, including

Ken Maynard Kenneth Olin Maynard (July 21, 1895 – March 23, 1973) was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood. Maynard was also an occasional screenwrit ...

and

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

. Originally from Yakima, Washington, Rawlins had made his way to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

by way of him being a barnstormer pilot, starring in an

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

. He first worked doing aerial stunt work for films, and played two small bit roles in films, and was noticed by Columbia and approached for his own series. The series, titled '' Adventures of the Masked Phantom'', opened in 1939, with Rawlins in the lead role.Monte "Alamo" Rawlins
at b-westerns.com The series was to have a trio that travels, rescuing people as they go, overcoming troubles and dangers that they encounter along the way. Reviews were not bad, but indicated that veteran actors George Douglas, and

Curley Dresden Curley is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to: Surname * August Curley (born 1960), American football player * Arthur Curley (1938 – 1998), American librarian * Barney Curley (1939 – 2021), Irish racehorse trai ...

had saved the series. Rawlins' reviews were horrible—it would be his last acting role. At the beginning of World War II, Rawlins joined the US Marine Corps, and served with distinction until the war's end. He remained in the US Marine Reserves, and was called up for active duty for the Korean War also. He remained in the Marine Reserves, and began working, upon his return from Korea, as a sound engineer for both

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

and Disney. He retired from both Disney and the Marine Reserves, moving to Hawaii, where he later died of natural causes in 1988.

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* * People from Yakima, Washington Male actors from Washington (state) American male film actors 1907 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub